trolling/reels

[SIMPLEMAN]

going to try trolling this year. got my holders and will run 6 to 8 off the back on 10 footers. my question after reading this and that is, how much line am i going to need. i've read some articles where folks run as much as 100ft. of line while long line trolling. is this acurate? the reels i was planning on using probably don't have that kind of capacity. just seems like at certain times of the year, when they are spooked easily, that this might be a good option for the guy in the back. i've seen folks that spider-rig from the front while trolling out of the back. help old simpleminded simpleman out here gang.

[jack]

Simple,I'm definitely no long liner.But,I saw those guys at Jordan last spring with at least 150-200 ft of line out.Some guy ran into their lines and had a helluva mess on his hands.My thinking would be until you master it some try to use as little as line out as possible.Make sure tou get a plug knocker of some sort,those little crankbaits are pricey.There is a trolling guide posted somewhere on either the Va.board or main board detailing size,depth,speed and line length.Probably wouldn't hurt to hit the La/Al/Miss state boards.Sure there are tons of long liners there.

[Countryboy N.C.]

If you are talking about trolling jigs, This is what I do, I trolled jigs for about 5 years, all year long and done real good at it, Now I am learning new methods and backed off trolling for now, but I will try to help you out, I used 4 pound line, 1/16 to 1/8 jig heads, curly tail grubs, one jig per line. Cast as far as you can, that should be enough line out, which should be 40 to 60 feet behind boat, next get your speed right, I start out at .7 mph, then I adjust till I start catching fish. Anywhere from .5 to 1.2 mph is the norm. early in the year, end of Feb, I slow down to get down to the fish ( .5 mph ) and use a bigger head because the fish will be 14 to 18 feet deep then. In march when the water warms up to above 50 , the fish will move up 12 to 13 feet, then I speed up some and go to a smaller head.. The more you do it, the more you will figure out. A 1/16 head on 4 lbs line running about .7 will run about 10 foot deep, you can slow down a little and get it deeper, 12 feet or so, but when the fish are 14 to 16 feet I use a bigger head and slow down. Well, I better hush, if knappy see this I will be in trouble! I ain't never told any one this much info at one time before, Knappy has been trying to get me to tell all for over 20 years now, I just give him a little bit of info at a time. Hope this helps some.
I foregot the most important thing, you got to be over crappie for this to work.

[SIMPLEMAN]

thanks guys.
jack i tried the crankbait thing and i just can't keep the green carp off my baits. i hear ya on the mess with 200ft. out!

cb jigs are what i had in mind. what little i've done has been traveling a short distance from one place to another. i can see where finding that perfect depth will be key. sort of like we have to do when rigging sometimes. hope ya don't get into trouble with knappy. hardly ever see him post anymore. you can just tell him i paid you very well for the info.

[poppop]

If you are talking about trolling jigs, This is what I do, I trolled jigs for about 5 years, all year long and done real good at it, Now I am learning new methods and backed off trolling for now, but I will try to help you out, I used 4 pound line, 1/16 to 1/8 jig heads, curly tail grubs, one jig per line. Cast as far as you can, that should be enough line out, which should be 40 to 60 feet behind boat, next get your speed right, I start out at .7 mph, then I adjust till I start catching fish. Anywhere from .5 to 1.2 mph is the norm. early in the year, end of Feb, I slow down to get down to the fish ( .5 mph ) and use a bigger head because the fish will be 14 to 18 feet deep then. In march when the water warms up to above 50 , the fish will move up 12 to 13 feet, then I speed up some and go to a smaller head.. The more you do it, the more you will figure out. A 1/16 head on 4 lbs line running about .7 will run about 10 foot deep, you can slow down a little and get it deeper, 12 feet or so, but when the fish are 14 to 16 feet I use a bigger head and slow down. Well, I better hush, if knappy see this I will be in trouble! I ain't never told any one this much info at one time before, Knappy has been trying to get me to tell all for over 20 years now, I just give him a little bit of info at a time. Hope this helps some.
I foregot the most important thing, you got to be over crappie for this to work.

The proof is in the posts. CB tears the crappie up. Good post.

[swamprat]

i have been longlining for yrs.how much line depends on speed and depth.i will run any where from 20 to 40yds.of line out and vary my speed to get my double 32nd.oz. jigs to where the fish are eating them.sometimes i run a 16th.jig and a 32nd.jig if i want to fish a little deeper.sounds kind a sorta like C.B.does

[Countryboy N.C.]

Here in about a 2 weeks, I will start trolling some, where I troll is RED MUD right now, as soon as it clears up some, I am going to troll some. I catch some of the biggest crappie trolling early in the year, end of Feb and first of march. Maybe I can give a good report on trolling soon. If it dont come another gully washer .
I have tried double jigs some, but I do just as good with one, if not better. Less time re rigging when I get hung up, some times I feed some line out after casting if I am trying to get down deeper, which ever way you try, the more you do it, you will see what works and what dont. Also try to follow the creek channel early in the year, later as water warms up they will move out on the flats near creek channel.

I tried the crank baits too, Caught 10 bass to one crappie. I got plenty of the 200's and 300's in the bandits collecting dust in the building. Dont like it at all!

[CAPP]

If you don't want those Bandits let me know.When water gets warm enough they work great at the right place.

["G"]

I be interested in some of those 200 Bandits if you want to sell them.

[gabowman]

If you are talking about trolling jigs, This is what I do, I trolled jigs for about 5 years, all year long and done real good at it, Now I am learning new methods and backed off trolling for now, but I will try to help you out, I used 4 pound line, 1/16 to 1/8 jig heads, curly tail grubs, one jig per line. Cast as far as you can, that should be enough line out, which should be 40 to 60 feet behind boat, next get your speed right, I start out at .7 mph, then I adjust till I start catching fish. Anywhere from .5 to 1.2 mph is the norm. early in the year, end of Feb, I slow down to get down to the fish ( .5 mph ) and use a bigger head because the fish will be 14 to 18 feet deep then. In march when the water warms up to above 50 , the fish will move up 12 to 13 feet, then I speed up some and go to a smaller head.. The more you do it, the more you will figure out. A 1/16 head on 4 lbs line running about .7 will run about 10 foot deep, you can slow down a little and get it deeper, 12 feet or so, but when the fish are 14 to 16 feet I use a bigger head and slow down. Well, I better hush, if knappy see this I will be in trouble! I ain't never told any one this much info at one time before, Knappy has been trying to get me to tell all for over 20 years now, I just give him a little bit of info at a time. Hope this helps some.
I foregot the most important thing, you got to be over crappie for this to work.

CBNC, some great info. I'm just beginning to learn some of this longlining stuff too. I've stocked up on a good many southern pro grubs of different colors for mainly dingy water but it seems my mistake is thinking I could troll 1/16th heads (2 per line) and get down to the 15' mark. All my rods are spooled with 6# line. Looks like I need to pick up some 1/8th heads if I want to get deep enough since I'm seeing fish around the 15'+ mark in deeper water now. Thanks for the tips for us trying to learn something new and feel free to toss some of us a few bread crumbs along as you see fit.